My Summer Vacation
by SeraphStar
Summary: When a young Warren PEACE is assigned the 'Most memorable even over my summer vacation', it's probably not what the teacher had in mind. Oneshot. CHALLENGE ADDED.
1. My Summer Vacation

AN: this is in response to Seducing Reason's challenge.

The guidelines were:

**1. Must include disturbing content, either humorously, or seriously, disturbed.**

**2. Must have _NO_ original characters.**

**3. Must have a proper conclusion.**

**4. Must be a tasteful one-shot, unless prompted otherwise by fans who know what they're talking about.**

I have attempted to adhere to the rules as best as I could.

Standard disclaimer applies. For those of you who catch the Gundam Wing reference (and for those of you who don't), I don't own that either.

Please review because it gives me warm fuzzies to know I'm appreciated.

* * *

He stares at the blank piece of paper, wondering what the fuck he's supposed to say. In his mind, he hears his mother telling him to watch his language. He can't believe the best first assignment of the year they can come up with is _still_ 'The most memorable thing over my summer vacation.'

But what is he supposed to write?

_The NSA realized my father was leading a double life._

NSA? The National Security Agency? Is his father a dirty cop or something?

No. The National Superhero Agency. And his father is both Blazing Sun, the light of the metropolis, and Fire Eater, a deadly vigilante who stalks the night. Each fights for equality, but equality for different sides of a vast spectrum. Keep the people safe. Refuse to be suppressed. Keep our secrets secure. Reveal what makes us who we are. Give them protection. Give us freedom. Defeat the villain. Defeat the hero. Win.

_So my mother took us away to live with her family while she tried to straighten my father out._

Alyssa Peace, formerly Battle, takes her ten-year-old son, Warren, and his border collie, Flash, to live with her parents. She goes after her ex-husband alone.

She finds him about to drop a flame in a trail of gasoline. The gasoline leads to a house. This particular house belongs to a politician who believes Superheroes are freaks of nature. This house also belongs to a wife who loves him and children who call him 'Daddy Dear' and ask him to sing them to sleep.

_But my mother wasn't strong enough._

She does the only thing she can think of. She tries to drown him. Drown her mistakes, drown her stupidity, her trusting nature, her hope, her heart. Her love. Gallons and gallons of _try _bear down on him. His flame flickers as he shields himself from the force of her flood.

But she isn't strong enough. She makes mistakes; she trusts, she hopes. She still loves.

She burns.

_So they sent in a team of experts._

Experts? The S.W.A.T.? The FBI?

No. The Commander and Jetstream.

The gasoline has been washed away. The villain regroups. A warehouse by the pier bursts into flames. It houses anti-hero propaganda. Banners, fliers, buttons, and bumper stickers are reduced to so much ash and smoke. So are coloring books for pre-schoolers, computers to be donated to the local high school, and the latest Disney film for your home collection.

Jetstream may fly, but she's certainly not invincible. The Commander braves the blaze alone.

_And one of them found him._

Amid the scorching heat, the smoke and flame, a lone man sits on an unopened crate. He is reading something on a metal plaque. He doesn't even appear nervous.

"Come on, Barron, we've got you," says the Commander.

A wry smile is thrown the Commander's way as stormy gray eyes refocus on him. "The graduating class of 1979 presents this honor to Barron Battle," he reads, "rewarding his service for the greater good during the crisis involving the super villain Torrent." After a moment's pause, he chuckles. "You signed this." The plaque melts; running like so much sand through his fingertips.

"You can't win Barron. You're not even trying; now, come on."

A pensive look. "Are you sure you're doing the right thing, Steve?"

_They tried to talk my father out of his lifestyle choices._

"What?" A confused expression crosses the Commander's features.

"Are you sure you're doing the right thing?"

The Commander sighs. "Don't tell me you're going Magneto on us, Barron. We can work this out. You haven't hurt anyone yet."

_He refused to be persuaded._

"I'm not changing my mind, Steve. You can accept that as the truth." His fingertips begin to blaze.

The fireball just grazes his perfectly combed coiffure. A glare is sent through the heat. "I don't want to take you in."

_So they tried to take him by force._

Dodging attacks, the Commander plows into his old schoolmate's stomach, momentarily knocking the wind out of his opponent. The reprieve doesn't last. Soon his cape is on fire. Jumping away, he discards it and the rubbery material smolders.

"Barron," the Commander growls warningly.

"Steve," the other taunts.

Picking up half a car door as a shield, the Commander charges. But the fireballs keep coming and his old friend is still fast.

The Commander is left in the remains of the warehouse. Alone.

_He hid in the last place they would think to look for him._

An eight-year-old Will Stronghold looks out of his bedroom window. His parents aren't home so he climbs onto the roof. His best friend, Layla, soon joins him.

They go inside and fall asleep in front of the television set.

Gray eyes watch them.

_And he used a weapon they hadn't thought of._

Strong arms carry the children to bed and tuck them in.

Parents walk through the door and gasp.

He puts a finger to his lips, setting it ablaze and letting it hover dangerously close to a future botanist's ear. "Now you'll listen," he says.

"Barron," whispers a horrified Jetstream, "what are you doing?"

"If this is the only way you'll listen to me," he replies, leaving the sentence hanging like smoke rising from his hands.

_But they were smart and fought back with a weapon of their own._

"Please," she murmurs, her motherly instincts overpowering her devotion to the cause, "don't do this."

She is rewarded with a smirk. He thinks he has won.

"Think of your son."

_And he couldn't fight anymore._

Something in him snaps. Suddenly, he is no longer the Fire Eater…or the Blazing Sun…he is Barron Battle. A father; what would happen to Warren? A son; his parents would be devastated. A husband; oh God, had he killed Alyssa?

And there, sleeping in the bed, is no longer Will Stronghold and Layla Greenleaf. It's little Warren Peace; his dark hair with their natural red highlights falling over his closed eyelids as he hugs his favorite teddy bear, waiting for his mommy and daddy to come home.

The flame goes out as he whispers in disbelief, "What have I done?"

_So they took him into custody._

NSA makes short work of the case. Four life sentences for destruction of various private, city, and state property as well as theft, vandalism, aggravated assault, and countless murder attempts. Barron Battle is taken to the UFPS, the Underground Federal Penitentiary for Super villains.

_I'm going to be living with my grandparents now._

The NSA sends agents to Alyssa Peace's parents with their condolences. It is agreed that they will act as guardians for young Warren until he reaches the age of eighteen.

Warren is told that his parents have had to go away. His mommy is in a better place and his daddy did some bad things, so he had to take a very long time-out. Warren doesn't quite understand, but there's nothing he can do.

_But I still miss my mom and dad._


	2. CHALLENGE

**To my dearly beloved readers and reviewers: Welcome!**

I have decided to issue a **challenge**!

To have you understand a bit more, I shall give you some background information about myself. Among other things, I hold a part-time job as a cashier for a sit-down restaurant and, one day during shift, I began wondering about the people that work at the Paper Lantern. I see so many stories about our favorite busboy falling madly in love with a terribly powerful heroine; but, I wonder, could there be someone at our Pyro's place of work who may have caught his eye?

So, that is your challenge.

Here are the **guidelines**:

**1. Must be a romance, you may pick the other genre, if any.**

**2. You must create a female, non-Mary-Sue (read: 'non-perfect') original character with _no powers whatsoever_. You may have Warren disclose his gifts if you wish in whatever way you wish, but it is not necessary.**

**3. The Original Fan Character (hereafter the OFC) must work at the Paper Lantern and not be related to the management in any way.**

**4. The story, whether one-shot or chapter fic, must be completed by the to-be-mentioned deadline.**

And here is how the **judging **will proceed:

1. Fifty percent of your score will be the number of favorable reviewers you have. Therefore, if you write a chapter story, the number of reviewers, as opposed to the number of reviews, will be counted.

2. The other fifty percent will be judged by myself on a scale of one-to-ten for the following categories:

-originality of plot use (clichés are frowned upon unless you have an exceptionally good reason for using them)

-character use (that is, how in-character you keep the ones that don't belong to you)

-OFC use (how well you design your OFC)

-writing (grammar, punctuation, and spelling)

-overall flow (how entertaining you are)

3. Entries are due no later than midnight of Halloween, Hawaii Standard Time. Halloween does not have to be incorporated into the plot, but you may use it if you wish.

Note: If I review your story, my review will not be counted towards your score. Also, I may be disappearing from the site for at least a week (midterms) and maybe another week (spring concert band auditions).

Finally, what you get if you **win**:

The winner will receive the following:

A one-shot, custom-written, to whatever they desire. Any genre, any pairing, any plot, no holds barred. You provide me with a story outline and I shall attempt to pull the rabbit out of the hat, no questions asked (unless I get confused, and I shall clarify).

You may notify me of your submission by e-mailing the title of your submission to me through the link in my profile and also by including, in the story summary, that it is a response to the **Lantern Challenge**.

I wish you all luck and hope you enter.

Until then, adieu.

SeraphStar


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